by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Remember Cheese Day last year? And the last minute knitted mice that went down a squeak?

One of my work colleagues, who I would go so far to say is a friend given the number of cat photos we share, was particularly smitten with hers. Since then I knit her the masterball, which is still thrown at me whenever I scratch my eczema, and recently it was her birthday.

Ok, it was whey back last month, but this was knit on time, and, gouda you brie-leave it, is the last of my finished knits to share with you all. So we’re being flexible with time. Flexible, like a cheese string…

Her little Squeak needed some cheese. So I made him some. It was only a quick and cheesy knit, no pattern, just let the needles do the work. She was pretty happy with it. Actually, she was feta than happy, she was cheesing at it.

Both the mouse and cheese (and pokeball) are all sat proud of place on her desk at work. And not gonna lie, I’m quite fondue of looking over at him, when the daily rind is getting to me, and cream of all the cheesiest cheese puns…

Knitting aside, life has been a bit hard lately. Just lots of little things, and a couple of big things, all clamouring away and yeah…the urge to make a blue cheese pun here is pretty high so I will swiftly move on!

Stay safe till the next post!

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 25 (+1)
Wool bought – 17 (+4 I caved, it was £1 a ball for black lace weight and there was four sitting so cutely nestled together…)
Wool given to me – 13
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 884 (Net difference: +3)

Last post I said “So close to breaking even with the start of the year! Can I make it for next post?!”, I totally jinxed myself on that one…

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting No Comments

You know the christening shawl I shared last week? The little one who it’s for is referred to as Gnome.

You gnome what is about to happen, cause I will keep making puns till the cows come gnome if I can get away with it!

The featured knit of this week is knit following the free pattern: The Scrappy Gnome Hat by Melody Lisa and was super quick on 9mm needles. Truth be gnome, I was so deep in the knit gnome with the christening shawl I had forgotten Engels request to sneak in a gnome hat too. So a quick knit was a win in that regard!

That, and I was desperate to knit with anything that wasn’t lace weight or white by that point!

As you can see here the gnome hat is lovingly modelled by Snorlax as he was the only thing with the correct head size on hand. Since this photo, we now have a second Snorlax – a squish mallow one! To go with my Gengar and Inklings Pikachu.

Theres not much else to say right now…there’s been a lot going on, but nothing I’m willing to share…

Oh well, perhaps I will have more to say next post! Until then, stay safe!

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 24 (+3)
Wool bought – 13 (+2, but needed for the new large project)
Wool given to me – 13
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 881 (Net difference: +1)

So close to breaking even with the start of the year! Can I make it for next post?!

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

A while ago you may all remember me knitting various Harry Potter inspired baby things, well, the baby has been growing and coming on in leaps and bounds and his parents decided to have him christened.

I for one, am not religious. My take on it is: you do you, as long as you don’t hurt anyone. And that’s how I felt about this. After, of course, the knee jerk reaction to the word ‘christening’ being ‘shawl’.

Checked with the mum and, shawl I tell you what the next knit I have to reveal is?

Well, for shawl intents and purposes, let’s pretend you haven’t figured it out…

Its a monster. I significantly reduced the number of repeats in the original pattern, Hush Little Baby Please Dont Cry by Cookknitwine Cook, a free pattern found on Ravelry, but it still came out huge.

But it was worth it, even if it was my shawl and chain for over a month, making me crave knitting anything in any weight and colour that wasn’t lace weight white…

Like seriously. I knit this at home. I knit this at work. I knit this at National Trust sites. I even knit this whilst running Cthuhlu! (I like to think a GM welding small sharp needles adds to the air of terror, but I suspect I came off as more crazy cat lady than cultist)

I probably could have done it faster with less procrastination and less “quality control testing” from my furry helper Outbreak…

Oh, and for those curious, I worked it out and there is just shy of 2km of yarn in there…

In other knitting news, I have immediately started another large project, well, one that will spawn two actually…and an array of accessories…

But we’ll get to that when we get to that.

As for the week just gone, like always, it’s been busy, busy, busy. It has also been very painfully hot… I went to Alton Towers on Monday with my good friend Timbercat and my AC completely died. There had also been massive storms knocking out power to more than half the rides, so I have a free ticket to go back again, and I look forward to it. Just with AC. And not on a blisteringly hot day.

October maybe? Or November? I’ll figure it out nearer the time.

Oh, my car is fine, the valve had gone in the AC unit and she had just slowly leaked away. She’s got a new valve and has been regassed. Seeing as my battle tank is 8 years old now and that’s the first major thing (other than consumables like tyres and brake pads) to go, I am well pleased.

Until next blog post, stay safe!

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 21 (+1)
Wool bought – 13 (+2, but needed for the new large project)
Wool given to me – 13
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 884 (Net difference: +4)

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Ah, the puns have had time to percolate in my brain whilst I’ve bean off on adventures. Although, brew-fore I knew it, a latte time passed…

Right. Bean-ough of these puns!

So, would brew like to know the reason for this bean-ormous amount of puns?

Yep, the traditional gaming group birthday dice bag. The re-sip-ient was very frappe with this one, as he’s a proper hipster with his fancy coffee!

In non knitting brews, sorry, I will stop with the puns now, promise, we’re back from a break in the Lake district which was much more adventure than rest. Which is exactly how I like my breaks, although poor Engel disagrees after twisting his ankle and having been eaten alive by all the insects…

We went with Rabbie, her husband, Missy and my brother and his dog Maisie. That dog is a whirlwind of chaos and the destroyer of slippers, she’s also a complete princess and got up to more mischief than Felix and Inkling combined.

The only downside has been the weather, it’s ridiculously hot and humid, the kind of heat that clings to your skin and makes everything feel a bit damp and uncomfortable.

But we had a thunderstorm yesterday, and I got to dance and twirl in the rain to the sounds of thunder and lightning. Was exactly what I needed!

On that note, till next post, stay safe.

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 20 (+9)
Wool bought – 11
Wool given to me – 13
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 883 (Net difference: +3)

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Don’t let the title fool you, Inklings party was a success and all the kids had an absolute pokeball!

It was a very busy weekend with the party, the bathroom only just being finished in time for family and friends to come round to the house after, and a nice play at the park and lunch the day after with family.

It was definitely a case of needing to put my feet up when all was said and done!

These may be my feet, and I may have knit not one but two identical pairs of these slippers, but these are actually for Rabbie as part of her slipper subscription. Alas, her last pair was nommed on by my brothers dog and that was the end of them…

That’s all for this post today, theres been a lot of things going on with the greater family and life in general which has me very worn out and not feeling all that chatty. But give it time and I’ll soon be regaling you all with random stories again!

Until next post, keep safe!

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 11 (+1)
Wool bought – 11
Wool given to me – 13
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 892 (Net difference: +12)

Its slowly, so very slowly, creeping down…

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

I know, that pun is onix-ceptable, and I’ll raichu an apology in a few s-ekans…

Ok, I’ll shut my meowth, and stop squirtle-ing around my knitting project for this post, as farfetched as that may seem!

An ultra ball! I know, all that for just this, but I won’t apologise.

So, long story ultra short, I have been knitting the pokeballs at work. I’ve also had a pretty bad eczema flair up. A few weeks ago the girl who sits next to me caught me scratching and, rather than verbally tell me off as she had been doing all week, she reached over, grabbed a pokeball, and tossed it at my head.

And thus, a meme was born at work.

Along the way she commented that was going to take an ultra ball to get me to stop itching and…it had to be done.

Not gonna lie, just today that thing has been thrown at me…but seeing it pride of place in her desk, getting petted absent mindedly, being threatened with it, others being threatened with it – worth it!

It does make me want to sit and knit all the different pokeballs now though…

And with that, I am going to go flee. There’s a very important party this weekend and there’s still things to prep and sort!

Until next post, stay safe!

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Pokeballs!

I wasn’t kidding. Really. Inklings birthday is coming up and he asked for a proper class party – between covid and family commitments he’s never actually had one, so the answer was of course yes!

He decided on a Pokémon theme then informed me that everyone needed to get a pokeball… I really do set myself up for these things…

Invitations sent, rounded up the number of Yes’s for attending and added an extra bunch to be extra safe, and so, 40 pokeballs where knit up, ready for the party in two weeks…

Well, actually, there’s 41, but I will explain that story next post.

Which brings me to the lack of posts lately. There’s been a lot going on, and I just wasn’t feeling social media. So I’ve had a complete social media detox since the last post and some of the things going on have resolved themselves, so I’m feeling a lot better now.

So with that, I bid you farewell until the next post!

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 10 (+1)
Wool bought – 11
Wool given to me – 13 (+11 for my anniversary)
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 893 (Net difference: +13)

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

No, really, there’s no finished projects to share, and no in progress photos either…

There is currently three big projects on the needles right now:

1 – This years Christmas decorations (100 is the aim, and these are worked on between projects, so nothing solid to show)

2 – Party favours for Inklings b’day (40 is the aim, and these are my out and about project. About halfway through so maybe a sneak peek next week?)

3 – A christening shawl for a friends little ones christening. This is a big beast, and as its lace, has to really be done at home, with concentration and decent light…its creeping along…but creeping is progress!

Aside from that its been an amazing Easter weekend. There has been Easter trails, egg hunts, exploring new places and catching up with old friends. The weather was fairly good for us, and much fun was had. Cant ask for more!

As an additional aside, it was mine and Engels 11th wedding Anniversary this weekend, and in a remarkably sweet gesture, and inspired I think with all the Easter egg hunts, he bought and with the help of our little terrors, hid 11 balls of wool for me to find.

Not gonna lie, I had far too much fun looking and finding them all! The kids were set to burst they were trying so hard not to ‘help’ me find them!

And with that, I bid you farewell until next post. Stay safe, and I hope you’ve had as much fun this weekend as me!

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 9 (+1)
Wool bought – 11
Wool given to me – 13 (+11 for my anniversary)
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 894 (Net difference: +14)

(I need to cracking on with the wool count, that’s not looking for the year!)

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

Couldn’t think of a pun, so rhyming it is today!

A long time ago I knit a mounted Jackalope head for some good friends, and they asked if it was possible to have a second mounted cryptid head at some point, possibly tying in with a North American theme they have going on in the spare room…

But what Cryptid?

After much discussion, and a lot of help from my dear sis Rabbie, I settled on a Caleygreyhound. A creature described as having the head of a wildcat, the body of an antelope, the fore-claws of an eagle, the tail of lion, and the hind legs and hooves of an ox. More importantly for me though, often depicted with ram-like horns…

And if its a North American theme, well, the wildcat should be a mountain lion, right?

Like the Jackalope, this is knit entirely from Jacobs sheep fleece I have washed, dyed with beetroot for the orange, left plain for the white and browns, and spun myself.

The ram horns are sadly plastic in this case, but Engel kindly painted them to look fairly realistic for me. And there’s a second set of horns, ready and painted, for when I get a chance to spin some grey and more white wool for the Scottish wildcat version of this I want on my wall…

No wool count this week as no changes.

Till next post, stay safe!

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

Not bored of the puns yet!

This one is from last month really, but Felix had been invited to sleepover at her besties as part of her birthday celebrations. I had asked weeks before if there was anything in particular she might like as a gift, and Felix kept shrugging.

We settled on a D&D style starter game as Felix’s bestie has been enquiring about RPGs and has seen D&D in various films and media, so…well, who can resist the urge to spread the geekery?

Two nights before the sleepover, Felix informed me that her bestie was wanting arm warmers. But they had to look awesome. And be green. And be cotton or some such fibre as her bestie was having eczema issues…

I shopped the stash, and found some beautiful deep green silk yarn and, after a brief consultation with Felix, it was decided.

Its a modified version of the free pattern Dragon Scale Gauntlets by Annemarie Pearson – all I did was remove a portion of the stitches from the underside, and use a smaller needle to get them fitting little 10 year old wrists.

Oh, I did ask Felix why she waited until the last minute to tell me about these, her response was ‘but you said to tell you when I thought of something.’

I mean, I did. Hence, the flameous last words…

Alright, its been a reasonably quiet week this week, a few little things, some major stress that has now been resolved, and compared to the rest of this year, that’s a win.

The only thing really left to say this week is that I did a bit of wool shopping for mothers day, but I was good! I only bought one thing for the stash, an its actually needed for a gift I’m going to knit.

I mean, what’s one cone of nearly 3km of lace weight yarn?

Starting total – 880

Wool used – 8 (+1)
Wool bought – 11 (+1)
Wool given to me – 2
Wool gifted to others – 3
Wool handspun – 2

Total – 884 (Net difference: +4)

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